Moving On
by RevolutionChick
Summary: AU To Green No More, inspiration from Zyuranger's 'Brai Dies'. Sometimes the best thing to do is move on.  Authors Note: Story will be left unfinished
1. Prologue

**Timeline: AU to Green No More.  
Rating: T  
Summary: _Sometimes the best thing to do is move on_  
AN: Stick with me, this will make sense in time.**

**Disclaimer: I _totally_ own it!...in another life.**

**Thanks to Patrick in a Heartbeat (PatrickFury) for putting up with my god awful grammar and betaing my chapters.**

_**Moving On**_

_Prologue _

It always drove him insane how the rain hit the windows. Every night it was the same thing, the same thunderstorms and the same emotions. It was a never-ending cycle that, despite the fact it was always repeating, the pain cut deeper each time, always drawing fresh blood that slowly killed him.

Some nights he badly wished for the rain to wash away his thoughts, and make him the new man he so longed to be. Others, he just wanted a lightning bolt to strike him in the heart and end his life. He was so torn between the two sentiments: the desire of waiting it out to find himself normal again, and ending it all to feel the blissful relief.

Every night, he asked himself the same thing. Why him? He never had to question about himself, or about life in general, because he would ask something that was able to chain itself onto millions of other things. It saved him the grief of complimenting on it all.

Why did this have to happen to him? If some higher power was out there, it obviously didn't care that doing this affected more than just one life, and the repercussions were left to hit the others the most. In his opinion, it was the most brutal murder to take one and leave the rest to suffer.

He would ask the same thing, and every night he would never get an answer.

So what was Jason doing, keeping himself awake at 3 AM, letting the rain infuriate him? He could never answer that either. Sure, sleeping away the day sounded nice, but he hated waking up, and for the few short moments of distortion, believe everything was okay, and that he would spend the afternoon at the youth center laughing away his problems like he always did. He hated life crashing down on him all over again.

The nightmares didn't help either. He rarely had them, yet when he did, they were too vicious to handle. A simple solution to the problem: no sleep, no dreams. It was why he had coffee anyways; to stay awake during his bio class the next day.

It was so boring, though; lying in bed to listen to the rain.

He didn't feel sadness towards it. The others looked at him like he was a twisted monster to battle when they began to see this. It wasn't normal to be thrown into this situation and not shed a tear; even those who barely knew him reacted with remorse. Yet Jason stood at the funeral not crying, but instead tightening his fist inside his jacket pockets until he swore he had no feeling in his arms anymore.

He felt no sadness, no sorrow, but instead anger; anger towards everyone, even towards himself. Every day he felt himself slipping away as the rage overtook his mind, and drowned himself in his own emotions. Jason knew at one point, he had control over it, that he could rise above the depths and find a new way of handling this.

But he let himself fall deeper in. A sickening thought would creep in the back of his mind, telling him that he deserved a life of only feeling anger, that he didn't have the right to feel sad over something he caused. The fury got to a standing point, from simply bubbling up inside, to filling itself inside a bottle in an attempt to not unleash everywhere at the wrong time. Keeping him from doing that was the only control he had left.

He felt only hate. It was no way to live.

Jason immediately noticed when it stopped raining. The sound of pitter-patting against the glass left, and his ears started to burn with silence. He sat motionless against the headrest of his bed, his hands laid in his lap and his legs crossed. It was a nightly routine; he would stare into space until his alarm went off.

He always kept his thoughts clear, never daring to touch the fragile subjects that caused him pain. It left opportunities open to keep him busy; when he was cold, he'd realize it straight away, and dunk himself under his blankets. When he was restless, he would get up and walk in circles.

He would never think about it, though. He heard people tell him it was an unhealthy habit, but how was it any unhealthier than ripping himself apart with the guilt? He only had so much time until his bottle burst, and until then, he tried to enjoy every moment of what ignorant bliss he brought upon himself.

It was too silent now, he thought. However, noise wasn't exactly something he could fix; with the time of hour any music would awake his parents. But it was too quiet. He needed to fix it before his thoughts tried to sink in.

Twiddling his thumbs, Jason softly hummed a gentle tune off the top of his head, the music echoing his mind as if it was coming from headphones rested on his ears. His body unconsciously rocked back and forth, starting out barely noticeable and getting to a sway that made him realize what he was doing. He never stopped; it was peaceful.

Keep humming, he thought. Keep the thoughts away.

_Chemistry test tomorrow. Probably going to fail._

_I'll go to the youth center, practice a bit more._

_What am I humming?_

_Zedd hasn't attacked in a while._

_This sounds familiar._

_Maybe I'll see a movie this week._

_It's raining again._

_Wait a second…_

Jason's body stopped dead in its tracks—frozen, looking as if someone had shot him dead in the heart. His shoulders fell flat and his hands stopped moving. For a few seconds, his breath hitched slightly, getting louder as time passed.

It was then he did something he never thought he'd do ever since Tommy's death. He threw his body forward, his head resting gently in between his ankles and mattress while heavy sobs accompanied the soft rain outside.

He cried for the first time in weeks when he realized it was the Dragon Dagger's summon that echoed his mind.

_To Be Continued _


	2. Part I, Chapter One

_**Three weeks earlier…**_

His cheeks tickled slightly as the warm breeze brushed against his body. Today, like the many days before, the sun was affectionate with winds soft enough to cool you down. It was the perfect spring day.

So why did Zack feel otherwise? He walked through the doors of Ernie's Youth Center, desperate to escape the outside that seemed too flawless for his mood.

A deep sigh escaped his lips as he looked around with lost hope, eventually finding his way to the bar where a large, older man stood cleaning glasses.

"Hey Ernie," Zack's voice brought attention to the man, who looked up with a warm, almost sympathetic smile.

"Zack! How's one of my favorite costumers doing today?" Zack almost cringed at Ernie's voice, hearing nothing but words painted over with false happiness. He could sense the hidden pity, but tried his best to overlook it, as it was useless to be bothered by such an insignificant thing.

"Been better," The understatement of the century, Zack thought. He leaned forward with his arms crossed over Ernie's bar and rubbed his face tiredly. "Have you, by any chance seen Jason? We've been looking everywhere for him, but his dad said he wasn't here. This is a last resort, as you can tell."

Ernie sadly nodded his head, and Zack turned over to where the man had pointed. There was Jason, indeed, beating a punching bag as if it had done something to anger him. He was one of the very few people who were at the Youth Center today, most of the others simply at tables eating or talking though.

Angel Grove seemed all too lonely ever since Tommy had died.

"Thanks Ernie." Despite his words, Zack seemed less than appreciative. If he were to talk to a stranger, they'd assume he was one of those unenthusiastic teenagers who only wanted to sleep all day.

Ernie knew better though; knowing the kid was nothing short of emotionally drained.

It was a few days ago, about five to be exact, that he was told their friend and a good client of his had passed away. To say the least he was beyond shocked. Tommy was only sixteen years old, a cheerful teen he saw a lot in his center working out or hanging with the others. All he knew of the death was it was an accident, no one was told yet what exactly had happened.

He didn't know if it was better off that way or not.

Turning behind him, Ernie grabbed a styrofoam cup near the smoothie machine. "Here, give this to him for me, Zack." Once in his possession, Zack took a quick whiff of the liquid inside the cup, curious to know what it was.

"Jason looks like he hasn't had a decent meal in days; a decent vitamin pick-me-up will do him good." Ernie flashed his famous grin, "It's one of my bests. On the house."

Zack had felt himself smile for the first time in a week, the grin on his face almost startling him with the feel of his lips curving up. "Thanks a lot, Ernie. For everything."

All he needed to see was Ernie nod his welcome, the sincerity being just enough for Zack before he walked away and across the building.

He could hear his footsteps getting slower the closer he approached Jason. His friend was not only deep in a work out, but violently hitting the hanging bag with obvious aggression. Zack didn't know if it was his selfishness keeping him back, honestly not wanting to deal with helping someone else right now, or the fear that Jason might beat him to the ground. He had never seen him so angry before.

"Jase…" He had almost expected him to not answer. Instead, the red ranger continued his work out, breathing heavily with each punch he threw.

Placing the drink aside, Zack took charge and grabbed a hold of the punching bag, dodging Jason's fist by merely inches. "Man, chill on the Rocky Balboa steroids for a moment!"

This was just the move to get Jason's attention, or at least bring him back to reality. He brushed by Zack to grab a towel he so desperately needed, and as he wiped off the sweat that drenched his face, he also took a sip from his water bottle. Not once did he look his teammate in the face.

Realizing someone needed to talk, Zack went to pick up the drink Ernie had given him, handing it out in front of him. "Here. Ernie made you one of his best - for free."

Jason stared at Zack's hand blankly for a few moments while still wiping the back of his neck. Instead of taking the cup, he eventually threw his towel aside and concentrated on the red bag in front of him again.

"Yeah, I know. He's been trying to get me to drink that crap since I got in the door. Something about health and all that." Jason's speech began to slur into a low mumble, and Zack could only assume he didn't care if he was heard or not at this point.

He sighed as Jason got back in a fighting stance, and started giving slow punches in an attempt to find a new fighting pattern.

"Gosh, will you listen to me, Jason? I didn't just come here to watch you wear yourself down." Whatever made Jason stop obviously wasn't Zack, because he could tell it was either exhaustion or irritation from how he went to cling on the bag for support in the midst of his sentence.

Hesitantly, Zack once again offered him the drink. This time, Jason warily took it, sipping from the straw for a while but giving no expression to how it tasted.

With him occupied, Zack jumped at the chance to get a few words in. "We haven't been able to get through to your communicator. Trini, Billy and I have been looking all over town trying to find you."

Jason took note at how Zack didn't mention Kim, and held back a grunt at the thought. He loved the girl like a sister, but they hadn't been able to face each other for days. The way she handled things was an attempt to have everyone's attention focusing on her, and the last thing they, or more say he, needed right now was comforting someone when he couldn't even comfort himself.

Deep down inside they all felt like that. Some of the group took it to an extreme level, such as Kim, while Jason could tell others were hiding it well. If Zack was one of them, he couldn't notice. Yet again, it had only been a few days, and he had avoided most of them for the part of it.

"Yeah, I turned it off." Jason placed the drink aside, his nose scrunched up at the bitter after taste it had left. "I figured Lord Zedd's going to be too busy with his victory party to bother attacking Angel Grove anytime soon."

"Don't talk like that."

Jason turned his head around, "Excuse me?"

"I said, don't talk like that." Behind the fury in his eyes, Jason could see a glistening of tears welling up. "It's been five days, Jason. Not even a week since we lost him; do you really think it's easy for us to go around and hear ruthless things like that? You may be able to block it out and pretend like it didn't happen, but we know it did. And we have to cope with it."

Jason, surprisingly, wasn't taken aback by Zack's retort. If anything he was anticipating him out of the other four to tell him off. He felt himself slowly shaking his head, the pace speeding up as he bent down to grab his duffle bag from the floor.

"You don't understand."

His jaw clenched tightly in a meek effort to keep his chin from quivering. After all, he hadn't cried yet, and he wasn't going to start now in the middle of Ernie's juice bar.

"Understand what? That you have some bizarre impression that you could've saved him? I was there Jason; I know you had no other choice!" Zack's words were turning into pleas, desperate to get through to his friend and leader. It was nothing but torture to see him suffer the way he was, and the more he spoke out the more he felt like a broken record player.

"No…" Jason swung the strap of his duffle bag over his shoulder, "I shouldn't have just stood there. I should've done something." He didn't move, and he didn't storm away, having Zack assume he was waiting for his responds.

There was nothing he could say back that would be heard though. Agreeing would be a lie, and talking him out of his feelings proved to be impossible.

Zack leaned forward to the bench next to them and once again picked up the now warm styrofoam cup. "Listen, Zordon wants to talk to us all before the funeral Friday. Tomorrow is a good day for the others, so be at the Command Center around 2 in the afternoon."

Basically placing the cup in Jason's hands, Zack glared him in the eye sincerely. "And if you don't, we'll have Billy hack into your communicator and teleport him yourself, whether it's turned on or not."

Jason was polite enough to wait until Zack had completely finished, but the moment he was done, he felt himself walking towards the nearest exit.

It was only the voice a few feet behind from him, and nothing else, that kept him from going out the doors.

"Jason?" Turning his head around just in time to catch his towel, he saw Zack staring back at him, his arm lowering from the throw.

"It wasn't your fault."

Once again, Jason had waited until Zack was finished before he walked away, bursting through the doors and letting them slam shut with a loud echo.

* * *

Later that night, four Rangers found themselves gathered in the garage next to Billy's house, the door having shut them in and only two tall lamps illuminating the area. 

Trini sighed as she walked across the room and sat down on the armrest to the large, old couch everyone was settled at. "You guys…I'm worried about Jason."

Billy looked up from the gadget he fiddled with in his hands, "Yeah, I know. I've never seen him so distraught before." He pointless continued to twist the small screwdriver, knowing none of his focus was on fixing the device but instead just keeping him occupied.

"Jason's always been one to hold guilt for a long time. And that's over small things, like when he caused us detention for passing notes. I'm afraid to think about how he's going to handle this, out of all things." Zack threw on the floor the chewed and withered toothpick he had in his mouth, bringing his arms to his chest afterwards in an attempt to avoid the nightly chill that got to him.

"No offense you guys, but Jason needs to be the least of our worries right now." Kim said, bringing the blanket her and Trini were now wrapped in a bit higher to her chin.

Billy sighed, "Kim…just because we've been discussing him a lot recently doesn't signify we're neglecting your thoughts to thi-"

"That's not what I mean," The pink ranger interrupted. "Has anyone thought about how Lord Zedd succeed in one of his goals?"

Kim's words brought silence among the garage, the four taking time to think about what she had said. The past week they had been so busy just focusing on their teammates passing that they had completely forgot how it was going to make them more vulnerable in the fight.

"There's no way Zedd is going to go easy on us now that we're down a member. If anything, he's going to increase his forces because of it." Zack numbly spoke, his eyes not moving from staring at the floor below him. It seemed all too unreal and surreal to actually be saying.

"Yeah," Trini sat up straight on the armrest, "Especially now that he thinks he's stronger than us." Her voice quivered slightly with tears, and she rubbed her tired face in an attempt to get control of herself.

Billy let the gadget in his arms drop to his lap and looked over at the girl. "Is he not?" His words echoed, once again no one replying afterwards.

Truth was, Rangers or not, the enemy had finally achieved doing more than just making their monster 50-feet-tall this time. One of their own was dead, and there was no doubt their pain was going to be used against them sooner or later.

_To Be Continued _


	3. Part I, Chapter Two

_Chapter Two_

He had arrived at the Command Center approximately ten minutes before 2 o'clock pm. The time now stood 2:10, and he hadn't budged an inch. Sitting at rest on a rock a couple of miles away from the large building out in the obscure deserts of Angel Grove, he simply soaked in the afternoon sunlight and allowed himself to drift off into a peaceful state of mind.

Jason couldn't find the strength in him to teleport inside. He had hoped spending the morning walking there by foot would clear his head long enough for him to pull it together, but just the sight of, what used to be his safe haven, was too overwhelming to endure.

He hadn't been in the Command Center since Tommy's death. None of them had been. There appeared to be no reason, until now of course.

He didn't know exactly what Zordon wanted to speak to them about. Obviously, there was no doubt it was regarding the recent events, but that didn't exactly say much. Still, Jason didn't know if he wanted to hear it or not. He didn't want to face reality just yet, knowing if he was suffering now, accepting everything would just make things all the worse.

He could barely feel as it was, the Red Ranger didn't know if he was ready to become completely numb so soon.

He knew he didn't have a choice. A little voice creeping inside his head was nagging him to teleport already, go inside and listen to what his mentor had to say, and then leave as quickly as he came. He just couldn't find it in him to do so.

Sighing, Jason looked around his surroundings, slowly placing his head in his hands as he did so. This place - the very area where he sat held so many memories dear to him. A part of him wished he could erase them all, forget Tommy had ever existed.

But knowing that his memories were the only thing he had left of his friend might have been the only thing keeping him alive.

_One Year Ago_

_The moonlight was a perfect cast on the Command Center. Tommy had never realized the structure could look so beautiful, especially at night. He sat still, gazing at his new base from far away as the chill of an autumn breeze brushed against him._

"_Hey." Tommy nearly gasped at the voice, jumping in his own skin as he whipped his head over to his right. _

"_Man, don't scare me like that." His hand held his chest in relief while he let out a deep breath of air, taking the moment of silence to let his heart adjust to its normal beating rate._

_Jason chuckled lightly, "Sorry. I have a, uh, bad habit for sneaking up on people." He took a seat next to Tommy on the hill, his knees meeting his chest in imitation to how the other Ranger sat._

_Unlike Tommy though, Jason wore a thin red jacket that he brought tightly around his body as a strong gust of wind came by. "So…one in the morning…Yeah, I'd say it's normal for us to be out here…doing absolutely nothing." _

_Tommy looked over at him with a small grin, watching in time as he did the same. He had only known Jason for a few days now, but when it came to wanting someone to spill information, you didn't need to know him for more than a second to see that part of his personality. _

"_What's up, man?" Jason never broke eye contact with Tommy once he had said this, and the Ranger took notice despite the fact his eyes were locked on his feet. His stare burned through his shoulder, making each second that went by slow and agonizing. _

_He straightened up, sighing. "Jase…I don't know if I'm cut out to do this Ranger thing." There. He had said it. Now if he was really lucky, Jason would teleport away from him and let him go back to sulking in his self doubt._

"_What makes you say that?" He had barely hesitated in replying, surprising Tommy. If anything, his words stunned him more than the time he had said them._

_Jason wasn't the first person he had spoken to about this. He spelt his doubt to Kimberly earlier, all his hope in support put in the girl who only told him words of encouragement and thoughts of his reserved. "You're a great Ranger, Tommy." "Don't think like that." "You're cut out to be one of us, trust me."_

_The boy next to him, his own leader, did something he wasn't expecting. He had questioned his emotions instead of hiding them away._

"_Well…" Tommy shifted his eyes back to his feet nervously. "It's just, I wasn't chosen like you guys, Jason. Rita picked me because I could kick butt, more so kick **your **butt." _

_Jason's quiet laughter was quite clear, as he nodded his head softly at Tommy's words. It wasn't until he looked up and saw Tommy's confused and distressed expression that he immediately stopped and heaved a sigh._

"_Tommy," Jason clamped his hand on his teammates shoulder, "You may have only been chosen for evil, but you've been kept for good. Zordon knows what he's doing; if you weren't cut out for this, he would've taken your power coin the moment the spell was broken. And last time I checked, he hasn't done that."_

_Tommy furrowed his brow in thought. No one had put things in that perspective, not even himself. And maybe, just maybe, Jason was right. _

_He looked over to his right as his lips quirked at the corners. "You know Jason, throughout this all, me being evil and all I've done to you…not once have you stopped treating me like a brother."_

_Jason's hand moved from Tommy's shoulder and over to his back, as together they sat with eyes staring at the moonlight shining on the Command Center. "Everyone needs a friend, bro. Besides…it wasn't your fault."_

* * *

"That's it; Billy, teleport him in here."

"Trini, chill out."

"Guys, just shut up. I'm sure he'll be here any second now."

Zack sighed heavily as everyone in the Command Center seemed to become more impatient by the second. Sitting on the floor against one of the many computer mainframes, he ran his hands down his face in exhaustion. He wasn't sure if he could wait any longer for their leader either, but the last thing he felt like dealing with was a pissed Jason.

"I'm serious; I don't care if he's in the shower for crying out loud! I'm not standing here all day -"

As if on cue, a bright, nearly blinding red light appeared behind them all, and in a matter of seconds Jason's body was visible and walking towards the middle of the room.

Their stares were piercing through him as he stood still, hands behind his back and eyes looking up at Zordon. He eventually turned around towards them all, somewhat confused but mostly aggravated.

"Yes?" No one seemed to answer him, only rolling their eyes or sighing exasperatedly at his inability to apologize for his lateness. Instead of dragging it out into an unnecessary fight, they all took places standing next to him, ultimately forming a line of colors.

"**Rangers, I thank you all for coming here today without the danger of Lord Zedd or an attack.**"

The tension in the room was evident, Trini and Kim even exchanging a few concerned glances whilst their mentor spoke.

"**I am fully aware of the grief you are going through at this time with the loss of a member. Tommy's demise was very unfortunate, and I only wish more could have been done to save him.**

"**However, this is only a sign of things to come. Lord Zedd has showed his power, and now, more than ever, the Power Rangers need to step up and show heroism even through their hardest of times.**"

Not one single Ranger held back their groans as Jason stepped forward with a raised hand. It was no surprise he would try and speak in the middle of what Zordon had to say, he would have done it any other day as well as right now. It was simply the fact that they all knew their mentor had more to say, and they wanted to hear it while they could still hold themselves together.

"Zordon," hands still behind his back and posture straight, Jason looked up at the giant blue tube in front of him. "I mean absolutely no disrespect to you, I hope you understand that. But you speak of Tommy as if he was nothing except a piece on your chess board. He was more than our teammate, he was our friend."

When Zack tried to place his hand on Jason's shoulder, trying to stop him before he said much more, Jason shrugged him off ruthlessly and took a few steps forward to displace himself from the others.

"I'm not saying in any way we're not going to take notice of Zedd's supremacy now that he's… I just find it a little offensive you tell us now, out of all times, to focus on fighting."

"**I mean no severity to you or any of the others, Jason. As I have said, I understand you're all in a mourning process. But because there is nothing we can do to bring Tommy back, or find a replacement any time soon, you as Rangers need to be aware that any attack on Angel Grove can happen in the blink of an eye.**"

Jason chuckled cynically, shaking his bowed head at what he was hearing. "You must've lost a lot of teammates yourself to act so inconsiderate to the situation."

"Jason, that's enough!" Trini grabbed his arm and pulled him back with her, where he stood against his will, chewing on the inside of his cheek to keep himself quiet.

"**Jason, I think you're disregarding the fact Tommy died in the line of battle. It's a risk you all agreed to take, and while it's distressing to think upon, death can be a result of your responsibility.**"

What their leader did next stunned the four other Rangers. No one saw it coming, his emotions pushing him over the edge and anger ripping through his body as he yanked himself away from Trini's grip and stormed up to Zordon's tube. Even Alpha, placed in the far corner of the room, feared the Red Ranger breaking the glass with his bare fist.

"In the line of battle? Zordon, his own _powers _killed him! Do not feed us crap about this being Zedd's fault. At the end of the day, all he did was finish what you knew was going to happen in time! You _**knew **_infusing your own energy in him made the Green Ranger powers lethal, he did _not _die in the line of battle!"

"**Jason, you must understand—**"

"Understand what? Understand that nothing was done to prevent this? You guys, he had to have known this would happen. And all he did was let it unravel on the viewing globe! If you had _let _me, I could've done something damn it!" Jason's shout echoed the room stridently, and he threw his fist on the edge of the nearest computer processor in rage.

"Whoa, whoa, Jason - calm down! You're _way _out of line. Zordon is only trying to help us here as Rangers, whether you like it or not when it comes to protecting Angel Grove, we have to forget Tommy's death and focus on destroying Lord Zedd."

Zack once again found himself trying to pull Jason back, but the teen threw his arm aside and stepped back with an expression heating up by ten degrees.

"This isn't about future battles, Zack! I'll go out there and kick monster butt right now if I have to. This is about where we stand as Rangers." Turning to Zordon, Jason's scowl was felt across the room.

"If he did nothing about Tommy's powers killing him, who knows what can happen to us. If we're broken, Zordon will just try to find a replacement. After all, who doesn't want to be a Power Ranger?" His words dripped with vile, felt by everyone in the room, but hitting the four humans the hardest.

Jason stormed away, forgetting the fact Zordon wasn't even done speaking, and he brought his wrist to view, holding the watch replicate until a wave of power washed over him, and all he could see was bright red and white lights.

Billy, Trini, Zack and Kim could only sigh as Jason teleported out. There was nothing that could be said after that.

_To Be Continued _

**AN: **Wtf? Zordon killed Tommy? Shesh RC, I realize the hair was annoying, but it's no reason for the dude to murder. Haha, yeah, I'm sure you're confused. But I told you to stick with me for a reason. Answers will come soon.


	4. Part I, Chapter Three

_Chapter Three_

It had rained the morning of the funeral. Jason had found himself woken up by the sound of thunder a half and hour early to when his alarm would have gone off. He merely lied in bed until it did, and then got up to get ready for the service.

The church smelled like wood and candles, and was filled with people he didn't recognize. Even Billy had made a comment on the strangers surrounding them, all assembled by genes and grief with a common purpose linking them in unity. Words and voices were spoken in tearful, muted tones, bouncing on the ceiling and off the walls, echoing in Jason's ears and becoming nothing to him.

To make matters worse, they had barely spoken since arriving. Silently, they acknowledged how they all somehow managed to wear their Ranger colors today, whether it was for their ties or jewelry, none of them wore simple black. Aside from that, they stood pretty much silent, shaking hands and nodding heads in courtesy.

When the service had started, they all split their ways and sat scattered across the church, in different pews with their parents. While Zack had noticed a few times from the corner of his eye how Trini and Kim exchanged glances through-out the pastor's speaking, he knew that they all came here not for each other, nor for themselves, but for Tommy.

They needed this time alone; as it was today they paid their last respects to the fallen Ranger.

Jason wasn't too surprised when Trini went to the stage once the opportunity of speaking arose. He had a good feeling out of them all, she would be the one to step up and take the plate. A small part of him smiled warmly at the thought. The rest of him froze over in blunt coldness, guilt washing over his conscience at how he wasn't up there speaking instead.

Unfolding the tattered paper in front of her, the yellow Ranger looked up and took a deep, shaky inhale.

"I didn't know Tommy for too long. Especially compared to the others in the room this morning. However, I did know him well enough to consider him one of my closest friends…in fact, I probably know him more than I do myself."

Trini's eyes drifted over to her leader, who numbly stared back at her. "I think I can say that for us all."

Jason nodded his head softly at her words, the first real sign of communication he had made in days. It was truth he couldn't ignore, which made the pain all the worse.

"Gosh, Tommy was the best guy I've ever known. If he wasn't…helping you out with your algebra homework, he was teaching you karate at the youth center." A gentle but tearful chuckle shook Trini lightly. "I can't tell you how many smoothies people bought for him trying to return the favors."

Despite the fact the words were right in front of her, Trini felt lost at what to say next, and the longer she was silent the more painful the lump in her throat became. Eventually, her tears blinded her sight, and the paper was useless to her.

"Tommy…Tommy was the family and brother that…that I always dreamed of having. And he treated…us all like such. And I'm so sorry." Grabbing her paper, Trini shielded her face from view and stepped off stage, finding the nearest possible exit.

The room stood silent, not a mummer or whisper in ear shot. It was as if they were all used to the situation, like a funeral was part of their every day routine. Someone's emotions being too much for them didn't seem to surprise anyone.

The silence made Jason sick.

Zack was quick to his feet, jumping up to the mic with a feeble attempt to keep things going. It was then Jason had tuned out to it all, Zack's voice and the quiet crying around him. He never noticed his father's strong grip on his shoulder, an effort at comfort unsuccessful, or Mr. and Mrs. Oliver clinging each other tightly two pews ahead of him.

For the rest of the service, Jason had his eyes locked on the closed casket in front of them all. He could only think one thing, as reality came crashing down on all sides of him.

It was real.

Tommy was gone.

No more jokes, no more laughs, no more him.

And there was no denying it anymore.

Today was the day he had dreaded all week. He knew being here, the funeral home where the body laid at rest, would confirm it all. Jason had no choice but to accept the death of his friend, and the longer his thoughts repeated it, the louder reality became, collapsing all around him.

He literally felt sick now.

_To Be Continued_


	5. Part II, Chapter Four

_Chapter Four_

The weekend after the funeral seemed to drag on forever. A few from the group kept in touch, however only Trini and Billy made an effort to see each other. Ever since they became Rangers, it was so uncommon for the five to be alone for even two days. Their grief seemed too much of a burden to handle.

Jason had slept most of this time. The few hours he was awake, he tried to be productive and get some homework done, sometimes even chores. Yet even that time seemed to linger too long for him.

He laid down in bed Sunday night, his body propped up on the headrest as he listened calmly to the gentle wind brush against his windows. The fall weather was rolling in, and he started to wonder if Zedd was at his lair creating some scarecrow monster after watching the townspeople gather to create their festive decorations.

"_Jason? Come in, it's Kim."_

Startled, Jason's eyes snapped open and he looked at both sides of his room with confusion. It dawned on him afterwards where the voice had come from, and he relaxed with a sigh.

Bringing his wrist to his mouth, Jason answered. "What's the emergency?" Silently he prayed Zedd hadn't created any 200 feet tall Scarecrow mutants tonight.

"_Hum?" _The grainy sound came through. _"Oh! Uh…no emergency, sorry."_

Despite the fact it _was _Kimberly, Jason knew none of the others, including him, ever used the communication line for casual chit-chat. Pulling himself into a sitting position, Jason waited patiently for the girl to speak again.

He had nothing to say himself, which made the silence all the thicker.

"_I think your mom is on the phone. I couldn't get through." _Kim softly spoke, a rustle of cluttering noise filling the background. It was most likely her walking around a room preoccupied as she always did speaking with someone.

"Ah…I see." Jason frowned to himself, wondering what it was exactly Kim wanted. Out of all the others, he seemed to have the worse interaction with her ever since Tommy's death. He wasn't unwillingly to fill the gap between them; it just seemed odd she wasn't at his throat blaming him for something anymore.

"_Anyways, um…I was wondering if you're busy." _

"It's 10 pm…with school tomorrow. The most I could be doing now is sleeping."

"…_so are you busy?"_

Her slow working mind could be the most irritating thing to put up with most days, but tonight Jason felt a weak smile curve on his lips.

"No Kim, I'm not busy."

"_Cool, come on over." _Her dull voice lit up with a thin layer of happiness, spiking Jason's curiosity as to what she wanted. Kim was perfect at doing that to everyone…she always kept them wondering.

"_Oh, and crawl through the window! My dad still hasn't let loose on the whole 'no boys after 8 pm' rule."_

The memory she dug up had him chuckling softly while he switched off the communication line between them.

The girl's father was a good man, all the more reason he enforced more rules on his 16 year old daughter after catching him, Tommy and her together one night after battle. They had been exhausted and passed out in her room by mistake.

Grabbing his shoes and heading downstairs, the memory played through Jason's head, and his smile stayed planted on his face at remembering the reaction Tommy had to a screaming Mr. Hart.

* * *

"How much longer are we supposed to be waiting for this guy?" 

"I don't know, be quiet!"

"Shhh, I think he heard us."

"Oh he's mad now!"

A low, irritated growl bounced off the walls of the moon palace, murmuring and shuffling heard from far across the area but not nearly as loud as the metal tapping Lord Zedd's nails created, hitting the armrest of his throne.

He could hear every word those two idiotic creatures made, every noise on every day. They stayed hidden in a small, clustered quarter next to throne room,the only thing giving off light for him being his angered body when he radiated red off his bare muscles. The less sound he heard from Squatt and Baboo, the more he was able to compose himself, and the less scarlet glow he gave off.

Zedd had been waiting at his throne for quite some time now, his patience growing thinner by the minute. It wasn't that he didn't have the time to spare; in fact he had plenty more than he could ever hope for now that he had finally gotten rid of the Green Ranger.

He chuckled maliciously at the thought. The image of the pesky Thomas Oliver out in the middle of nowhere, gasping for his last breath still brought a smile upon his face. He constantly remembered the Red Ranger's pleads, and the others' sobs echoing his ears as if he had planted the memory in his mind for good.

It was fantastic.

But now he had to move forward, figure out where he would go next. It was all a matter of time, time he needed to select wisely. With the Rangers in their grief, Zedd had the perfect opportunity to catch them all off guard, even Zordon.

Suddenly, in the middle of his thoughts, a purple and orange lightning bolt came striking down behind him, soon to be followed by a cloud of smoke. It was enough to startle a deaf man, yet he didn't flinch whatsoever.

"You always have to make an entrance, don't you?" Zedd's voice was low, barely heard against the blazing wind and his striking metal nails against his armrest.

Slowly, his throne spun around to face his latest visitor.

"It wouldn't be that fun otherwise, now would it Zeddy?"

As the fog cleared the room, the red illuminating light slowly began to return. Lord Zedd's body of purely muscle and bone ignited with burning heat that could melt the walls.

"I told you to never to call me that!"

The creature merely chuckled, crossing his arms and bluntly ignoring the sound of two other beings running scared far into the palace. He never even blinked in response to Zedd's outrage.

"Do you want me to help you destroy the Power Rangers, or not?"

And with that, the room turned back to its regular lighting.

* * *

_Knock._

_Knock._

_Knock._

Kim looked over at her bedroom window to see Jason crouching down on the roof, his knuckles tapping the glass as gently as possible to not disturb any of her family members.

Immediately, she jumped up and went to unlock and open her window, careful not to knock over any of the possessions on her bed.

"Whoa!" She whispered in surprise, "It's chilly out there." Kim took a step back as Jason crawled into her room, pulling her pink robe tightly around her body as the cold fall breeze came brushing near her.

"You're telling me. I had to sneak back inside just to grab a jacket." Jason said, placing his feet on the floor as he entered her bedroom.

"It seems fall is coming fast." The Red Ranger took notice of how distant and empty his voice sounded, wondering if Kim was aware of it herself. If she was, she overlooked it well, because she turned around and replied vaguely.

"Yeah, I know. It seems like just yesterday we were all at the beach cooking those hotdogs and making sand castles." Kim found herself looking Jason straight in the eyes as she started to reminiscence, and could have sworn for a second she caught a glimpse of happiness behind those brown eyes.

The sparkle was gone as soon as it came though. Jason shook himself back to reality, where laughter and fun no longer filled the air, and he stood cold and puzzled as to why he was here.

"What's up, Kim?" Jason asked, the skin around his eyes drawing tight as he frowned his eyebrows.

Kim started to walk closer to him, "Well…Mrs. Oliver called me yesterday. She actually had me come over to her house so she could give me that." Pointing behind Jason, Kim found herself unconsciously chewing her bottom lip, a habit she couldn't seem to outgrow.

Turning his head, Jason saw the sight of a medium sized box, small enough to hold in both hands without trouble. It sat opened and somewhat torn in the corner of the room, which only spiked his bafflement.

"A…box?" Jason questioned, his head turned back to look at her confused.

"Yeah. It was full of selected things she thought we—you, Trini, Billy, Zack and I—would like to keep." Kim's voice was a pitch away from quivering, and she knew she was a few more nibbles close to tearing the skin on her lips.

Her nervousness was nothing compared to Jason's at that moment, though. His face fell flat at her words, and he felt as if someone had dropped an anchor in his stomach; a feeling he couldn't seem to get enough of these days.

"You mean…it's his stuff?" Jason asked, already knowing the answer, but a part of him feeling unsure to the reality of it.

His eyes grew distant as he watched Kim nod her head, lifting her hand as she pointed a finger behind him again.

"It's all sorted out on the bed. I figured I'd let you guys see it tomorrow after classes…but there's so much I know you're going to want that I think you should just take now."

Kim's voice slowly faded out to Jason once he turned around and saw the scattered piles of pictures, objects, posters and even his football uniform on her bed sheets.

Now he felt like the anchor in his stomach grabbed a hold of his intestines and was yanked out of his body with forceful tugs.

It was all there; not only a year and a half worth of memories, but a lifetime of memories to Tommy. Mrs. Oliver was even kind enough to include a baby picture or two. He slowly went over to pick one up, no coincidence that it was a little boy naked in the bathtub that Kim was last looking at.

"She…she really must've felt we were close to him," Jason softly said, his eyes studying the Polaroid carefully. The guy even had unnecessarily long hair when he was a kid. He started to wonder if he had a phobia of scissors…

"Well, we were." Kim's words caught Jason off guard, as he turned his head over at her with a bit of blankness.

She broke into a subtle grin at his thought delay. "Come on Jason, when we weren't battling, or preparing to battle, or _thinking _of battle…what were we doing?"

He nodded his head slowly at hearing her, putting down the picture with realization. He couldn't even remember one day they weren't hanging out since they all became Rangers.

"You're right. We were together all the time."

And now it was different. They were becoming so secluded and distant. Jason silently questioned if that was going to change, or simply get worse at the days go by.

"Oh wow, his AC/DC posters…" Jason bent down to unravel half of the large pictures, getting a good look at them while still catching eye of the other possessions next to it. It was almost unsettling to see such simple art, something he would see all the time at the local store kept so many memories of hanging out with Tommy in his room, listening to the music or simply talking until evening came.

"Yeah, no doubt will Zack want those," Kim smiled, "Who can forget them screaming along to "Love Bomb" on the way home from seeing them in concert?"

Jason chuckled dryly, "Yeah…who can forget?"

His eyes drifted along to the piles of printed pictures, knowing without having to go through the stacks that they were in order of who they went to. Kim had organized it all well, solo pictures of someone and Tommy belonged to that person, and group pictures waited to be selected among the others.

There was something that did catch his eye though. It was a small pile, a few things lying separately and alone. He frowned, bending down as he carefully pushed the objects away from each other to get a better look.

"Is that…?" He whispered quietly under his breath, picking up a foreign object. The moment it wrapped around his fingers and hung in perfect view, he clutched it in with his fist as his eyes closed tightly.

"He was always wearing that. I could never figure out what it was." Kim spoke up from behind him.

"Its part of an arrowhead," Jason inhaled shakily, his eyes remaining shut until he could feel his upper body again. "He…he always told me he felt there was a special reason he had it. Like maybe someone out there had the other piece."

The Ranger could hardly breathe. He knew the necklace must have been found by a doctor, given to the Oliver's along with everything else Tommy had on that day. He didn't even think about seeing it again. The fact that it was there in Jason's hands that very moment made his emotions flood everywhere.

Kim's lips formed a slight 'o' to her mouth, and she tilted her head slightly to see Jason's still and frozen face.

Suddenly he turned around, his fist still clutching the necklace tightly. "Who gets it?" He questioned abruptly, his words stern and bare.

Kim blinked vacantly for a moment. "I was hoping I would keep it. It could be something I could wear to remember him by." She had bowed her head in mid sentence, trying not to show the floating tears in her eyes.

It was then Jason knew exactly what he felt. Nothing but fury.

"What?" She looked up at Jason's sudden change of tone. "You didn't even know what it was, Kim!"

"So? Jason, it's not like I have band posters or something to keep! Everyone but me has something to remember him by," Kim retorted, grabbing his wrist in an attempt to take back the arrowhead necklace. Jason didn't pull away, but clenched his fist tighter.

"Did Tommy not give you a promise ring four months ago? Or did I dream that week where he constantly asked me my opinion on rings?"

"Do _not _go there Jason. You know Guitardo destroyed the ring in battle."

"Kimberly? Who are you talking to?"

The voice of her mother had Kim's heart skip a beat. She quickly ran to her door, cracking it open just a tad bit to holler out into the hallway.

"I'm just on the phone mom; I'll go to sleep in a few!" The Pink Ranger then shut the door before her mother had responded, spinning around and leaning against it with a sigh of relief. She had forgotten where she was for a moment and let her voice get the best of her.

Jason was less relaxed than her, however, and uncaring to the current situation. He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaustion mixing with the anger running through his veins.

"Listen, Kim, I think it's only fair I take the arrowhead. Tommy is…he was my closest friend. I know why he had it, and—"

Kim fled from the door, running so fast towards him her robe flew behind her. "And you think that's the best reason? He was my _boyfriend _Jason, I loved him. How do you think I feel about all this? You're not the only one suffering!"

"Oh god, not this crap again. You know Kim, fine. Take the damn arrowhead." Jason threw the necklace back on the bed in anger, storming over to the window and as fast as his shaking hands could, unlocked and opened it ready to leave.

"I will, thank you very much," Kim sarcastically answered, charging ahead towards Jason and pulling the curtains aside to help him get out all the faster.

With the window wide open, he was about to take his exit when he turned over towards the girl and narrowed his eyes. "And you know what Kim? Since you feel you were so close to Tommy, I hope you have wonderful dreams tonight about how _you _could have saved him."

Kim threw her head back and sardonically laughed. "Right, because he _was_ dying in my arms after all. Oh no, wait, that was _you._" She kept her voice low but heard, nearly hissing to make sure her parents didn't overhear their dispute.

Jason could barely see straight at this point. He shook his head with anger and stepped out on the roof. "Screw you, Kimberly."

Before Kim had the chance, Jason grabbed a hold of the window and slammed it down with al his strength.

"Kimberly Ann Hart!" Her father's bellow filled the house, but Kim could only watch in rage as Jason ran next door to his own house, and listened as her parents stormed into her room.

Just great.

_To Be Continued_

**AN: **You know what's sad? I don't hate Kim. I actually like the character. But man did I write her to be a bitch in this chapter. Kim fans AND Timberly fans are going to kill me soon...

Please do not question what episode it was Tommy gave Kim a promise ring...or worse, say it didn't happen. They can it fan**fiction **for a reason :)


	6. Part II, Chapter Five

_Part II, Chapter Five_

Angel Grove High's classes started normally on Monday morning. For most of the school it was nothing but an average boring day, yet for a few others it appeared to be a struggle to find their normal routine again. Time may have been passing, but the pain of their loss hadn't lessened one bit.

By now, It had been no more than a week and a half since Tommy's death, and the teachers were sure not to have the school forget so soon. A memorial was placed near the gym doors while pictures and roses were at the foot of his locker.

The Rangers were still distraught knowing they couldn't tell anyone their friend had died in battle. Freshman to seniors had spread the word that Tommy had died of a mysterious heart attack, which while it didn't make all that much sense to how healthy he was, the medical files were there to back it up.

Billy and Trini walked the hallways of the second floor, having no choice but to listen in on the conversations of nonsense rumors that they passed by.

"I heard things were so bad with his parents the stress brought on the heart attack."

"Damn, for real? I should go see the doctor after school…no way am I keelin' over because of the folks."

"Jess - you know the Tommy guy that died? Rumor has it the lunch ladies' food killed him."

"That's such bull, Nathan, give the guy some respect."

Trini clutched the shoulder strap to her backpack tightly, finally reaching her locker.

"Billy, if I hear one more rumor, I think I'm going to snap."

"Don't trouble over it Trini, the gossip will diminish as soon as it came; it's how we adolescents are." It was true, sadly. The moment something fresh happened it always replaced the current talk of the town in the high school.

Billy sighed as he opened his own locket next to Trini's, both beginning to bring out their textbooks for first period.

It was all too surreal to be back in school, picking up their normal schedule without one of their friends with them. Tommy usually wasn't even around them this time of day, it was simply knowing they weren't going to pass him on the stairs or sneak out of class with him to morph again.

Trini frowned, closing her locker door. "I have an algebra test today." Subconsciously she pondered on finding a way out of third period. She had completely forgotten about her school work until last night with how chaotic and emotional the week had been.

"It sounds exhilarating." Billy's words may have been full of sarcasm, but he looked at his friend with a joking smile. She weakly gave her own, feeling a bit better that he had some attempt to cheer her up.

Right as she was about to reply, a familiar face passed by them both. Immediately Trini turned around and saw Jason walking past them, dragging his red backpack with him.

"Jase!" Her voice called out just loud enough for him to hear, but to stray from grabbing the attentions of others.

Jason stiffened at her voice, debating on ignoring her and heading back to class, or dreadfully listening to what she had to say.

Matter of fact was, he had a good feeling of what she wanted to talk to him about. And obviously, it wasn't what he wanted to listen to.

"I'll catch up with you later, Billy." Trini brushed her hand on his shoulder before jogging up to Jason.

The Ranger gave her a quick glance before sighing and continuing to walk down the hallways with her by his side. He had a heavy feeling in his gut he wasn't going to enjoy this.

"Hey Jase, Kim called me this morning." Okay, nothing too troubling so far. Kim and Trini talk on the phone 24/7, right?

"Let me take a wild guess, she was asking for answers to our geography homework?" Jason only looked at Trini once as he spoke, taking a sharp turn down the school corridors with her.

"Jason…"

"Because Mr. Haines sure did get tough with those questions. I think only Billy's going to pass his class."

"Jason, she told me what happened."

He finally came to a stop at her words, feeling a deep exhale escape his lips. Of course, he saw this coming. It didn't mean he was ready for it, nor wanted to put up with it.

"Trini, this is Kim. She probably exaggerated every little detail to make me out to be the bad guy. There's no point in even discussing this, because God knows you've taken her side." Jason told her, adjusting the strap hung around his shoulder.

Trini shook her head, "No. In fact, I told her the same thing I told her last week, which is that she needs to be more considerate to how we're all feeling right now."

Jason blinked, turning slightly over to her. Either he was starting to hear things, or he was still dreaming. He didn't believe Trini wasn't down his throat screaming at him for what he had done.

"Really? You said that?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yes. But let me put an emphasis on '_how we're __**all**_ _feeling.' _Jason, you were just as much of a jerk as she was."

Ahhh, there it was. The good 'ol Trini he knew and loved.

"Whatever, I have to get to class." Jason made an effort to drop the subject and move past the girl.

Trini stepped over to him before he could walk away, however, and he was too tired to put up a fight.

"Jase, it's _normal _to feel angry right now. No one is stopping you from feeling the way you are."

"Uh, correction," Jason looked up at her. "Last time I checked, Zordon is." His words were covered with venom, rage that Trini couldn't quite understand.

There was a story Jason was keeping from them all, it was obvious to everyone. Trini didn't have the heart to push it on him, though. Instead, she locked eyes with him, showing through her own that she held true concern.

"Yes, but Zordon isn't human, is he Jason?" She kept her voice low, "It's a natural for _humans _to be angry when their hurt. Just…stop trying to push your friends away because of it. We're here for you."

Jason couldn't place his emotions at hearing Trini. She held such interest and compassion for him that surpassed everyone else that had spoke to him recently. He should be feeling upset and sickened…but he wasn't.

Maybe Trini was different. Maybe she didn't pity him like the others…instead cared.

His mouth gaped open, but a struggle for words kept him from speaking. Trini understood, nodding her head softly at this.

"Listen, we're all meeting outside at the lunch tables after school to pick from Tommy's things. Do us all a favor and apologize to Kim. We don't need this right now."

Jason had to agree with her here. They didn't need it, _he _didn't need it. But he also wasn't the one who created the problem.

"I have no reason to apologize, Trini," Jason took a step away from her. "And I apparently have nothing to be there for."

At that, the school bell rang loudly, followed by an ambush of dashing teenagers heading to their classes.

Jason took one last look at Trini before he made his way down the hall. She could only sigh before turning around, and going to her classes as well, she left muttering about failing a test.

If Jason's parents questioned their son's tardiness for dinner and exhausted appearance, they didn't do so loudly. At least, not with their voices. Eyes watched him carefully throughout their meal, watching him take bites of food as if it were interesting.

The Scotts ate in silence, no one daring to speak and only occasionally looking at each other. Tony and Caitlin's eyes were thoughtful; Jason's weary.

"So, uh…" Tony gently put his fork down on his plate, wiping his hands with a napkin timidly. "How was your first day back at school, son?" The man looked towards his wife with eyes begging for assistance, but only saw her staring at their boy with worry written on her face. He seemed to get physically worse by the day, and her motherly instincts were screaming.

"It was fine." he said quietly, "I think I might have failed one of my tests though."

Caitlin stopped eating and set down her fork. "Sweetie, if you're not ready to go back I'm sure we can get you a few more days off. The teachers are more than understanding of it."

Jason's mother kindly reached out to place her hand on top of his. It was a surprise when Jason drew his arm back as she tried.

"No, it's fine mom. I have midterms coming up soon anyways. I can't afford to miss any more work." Jason stared at his food intently, as if his peas and mashed potatoes were dancing for his entertainment.

The silence had become normal for the family. Tony and Caitlin didn't want to engage in delighted, casual conversations with their son so quiet and grieving. The more evenings went by, the more awkward things got for them all.

Suddenly, Tony had cleared his throat loudly and moved his plate aside. "You know, I saw this awesome thing on TV yesterday -"

_Ding-dong. _

All three's attentions were brought to the front door in the other room. "I wonder who that could be at this time." Caitlin pushed her chair back, leaving the napkin that lay in her lap on the table as she went up to answer the door.

Tony and Jason sat in more silence at this, being unable to hear what was going on at the front door making eavesdropping pointless.

It was then Jason put his fork down and said, "Wrestling."

"Huh?" Tony cocked his head slightly to one side, confused.

"It was what you saw on TV - a wrestling match. You told us last night," Jason said, grabbing his half-eaten plate and getting up from his chair.

"Ah…right." Tony watched as Jason gathered his utensils and napkin, about to go into the kitchen when a voice stopped him.

"Jason honey, Zackary's here!"

Jason made a vague sound in the back of his throat; something his father could only assume was a groan as the boy put his dinner plate back on the table and made his way into the parlor.

"Don't be too long Jason; his parents are out there waiting," Caitlin told him, making her way back into the kitchen and leaving the two teens alone.

Zack stood outside on the porch, biting his lower lip as he waited until his friend's mother had left before handing over a large envelope.

"These are for you. They're the rest of the pictures we divided up this afternoon." Surprised they bothered to give him anything. Jason hesitantly took the packet from him.

"You could have just waited to give them to me at school tomorrow," he pointed out once he had put the pictures on the nearest end table.

Zack nodded his head at this, wrapping his arms tightly around his chest at the cool fall wind; "Yeah, but I had nothing else to do, so I figured I'd do it now." His eyes skimmed into the house; left, right, anywhere but at Jason.

Usually the Scott household was loud and busy during the evenings, in the living room playing charades or at the dinner table discussing something. It was eerie to hear such silence, a tension brought on him that he felt uncomfortable around.

"Also," Zack finally looked at Jason, "You look like crap. I didn't have the time to tell you at school."

Jason rolled his eyes cynically, "Thanks Zack, I appreciate that." He went to close the front door, only to be stopped by a forceful hand on it.

"I'm serious, Jason." He cautiously let go of the door. "You look like you haven't had a decent meal or nights sleep in days."

"It's not your job to worry about me, Zack."

"Hey, who said I was worrying about you? If you want to handle it this way, by all means do so. But be prepared for unpleasant visits to the school counselor and constant talks from Zordon."

Jason sighed, his head bowed as he painfully pinched the skin on his fingers. He didn't want to slam the door on his friend, but the last thing he felt like dealing with was this.

He looked up with a sly, sarcastic smile. "Okay, fine. After all, I deserve Zordon to keep reminding me this is my fault." He once again tried to close the door, and it was the same result of Zack stepping forward to stop him.

"Jason, excuse me here, but what the hell? Just last week you were screaming at Zordon saying it was _his _fault. Now we're back in the self-guilt mode?" Zack tried to keep his voice low, making sure Jason's parents didn't hear them speaking of their intergalactic mentor. He suddenly frowned, letting go of the door again. "Jason, what happened? If you know something we don't, telling will help us understand why you're acting this way." 

Jason froze. His hand still held a tight grip on the door, but his eyes were no longer connected with Zack. He stared attentively at his feet, momentarily deliberating if he should speak but eventually finding his thoughts had slipped and he was listening to his own breathing.

"I could have saved him," His voice was in a low whisper. It took a few seconds for Zack to grasp what he had said.

"Jase, come on. For the millionth time, you had no choice. I was _there._" Zack's voice was quiet as well, but held a stern tone that Jason only responded shaking his head to.

"No, no. Not at the beach, not when he was…" Jason caught himself before he said any more. He glanced behind him, seeing his parents in the living room watching TV, and took the chance to step outside and shut the door behind him.

The cold air prickled against his skin at first, temporarily distracting him from what he had been saying. "Remember when I had left Billy's lab for a while, as he was trying to break through Zedd's force field?"

Zack slowly nodded his head, not seeing where this was going.

"Zordon…he had got in contact with me."

"But we tri-"

"I know. Apparently with the force field up, we couldn't get through to him, but he found a way to get through to _my_ communicator. It…it took a while, Alpha had messed up the systems badly finding a way to teleport me in."

Every word Jason spoke was filled with strain, struggling to tell the story without choking up. He refused to cry, he didn't need to show weakness right now. Not as their leader.

"I…I don't understand, man. I know the systems were screwy when we got there, but Billy figured it was from the force field. Why…why did Zordon teleport you in?" Zack was starting to feel anxiety jumble up inside of him. He surely wasn't ready to hear more life-changing news, and was regretting asking for it.

Jason looked up at him solemnly. "Zordon knew Tommy was losing his powers. He knew he was dying."

_:-:-:-:-:_

_Jason had found himself from staring at the outside of Billy's house, to looking into the face of Zordon in the matter of seconds._

_He barely caught his landing when he was teleported, completely off guard and unprepared for it. If it weren't for one of the computer consoles he came next to he would have fallen flat on his face._

"_Zordon!" He gasped in surprise. "What's going on? Why didn't you bring the others, how come _—"

"_**There is no time for questions, Jason," **__The deep and loud voice cut him off, and Jason stood still briefly, overwhelmed with confusion. One moment he was with the others crossing his fingers that they could break through the force field, and the next he was praying that he was going to be alive to see tomorrow._

_Snapping back to reality, Jason pushed his thoughts aside and went straight down to business. "What do I have to do?" _

"_**Alpha has found a way to receive a lock on the outer world's sensors. It appears that Lord Zedd has given this crystal," **__Jason turned his head around to the viewing globe where he saw a broken, white crystal in Zedd's hands, _**"**_**And the energy that possessed it to Turbanshell." **_

"_You mean that turtle has twice the strength now?" Jason could only stare in hopelessness as the viewing globe images changed to the streets of Angel Grove, where the monster stormed in rage. _

"_**I'm afraid it is worse than that, Jason. Turbanshell has already acquired what Ranger power Tommy seized. That combined with the crystal's power is enough to destroy Angel Grove as we know it." **_

_His eyes went wide as his breath caught in his throat. "Wait, what about Tommy, Zordon? Is he okay?" Jason knew his friend's recent condition, his powers were becoming his only weakness yet the one thing keeping him alive. To hear that Zedd had some monster strip him from all he had set a sickening awareness in his stomach._

"_**With the Command Center under Lord Zedd's force field, it is impossible to locate Tommy, especially if he remains in another dimension." **_

_Jason felt like retorting at Zordon, but knew it'd be a waste of time. The more he stood still, full of fear and shock, the longer Angel Grove remained in danger. He knew it was his responsibility as a Ranger to save them._

_Then it hit him, and Jason spun around to face his mentor. "Zordon, our morphers disappeared when Zedd brought us back from the other world. How am I supposed to fight?" _

"_**When Lord Zedd broke the crystal, the energy that kept your morphers in his world was shattered and they were returned to their true location." **_

_Alpha came stumbling in, a metal tray placed in his arms. "Here you are, Jason."_

_He stared down at the tray with his mouth hung open, forgotten. "What about the others? If Turbanshell is as powerful as you say, there's no way I can battle him alone." _

_Jason knew he was stalling. Zordon explained there was no time for this, but his feet seemed planted on the floor, refusing to go out and fight with so many questions unanswered._

"_Ayi ayi ayi, it seems the only way we could teleport you through the force field was to borrow some of the power from the other Ranger's morphers. It won't be long until they are finished charging, but you will have to break Lord Zedd's force field so they can claim them."_

"_**Jason, you must hurry, there isn't much time." **__Zordon's deep and husky voice echoed the command center, as Jason hesitantly picked up his morpher from Alpha's tray._

_His face took over a pondering air, and thoughts passed behind his eyes like shadows. It was times like now he proved why he was a Power Ranger. There was nothing stopping him besides his fear._

_And as always, Jason found a way to push it aside._

"_Okay, I'll go. But please Zordon; tell me the moment you get a lock on Tommy." Jason stared down at his morpher, his thumb tracing the outline of his coin while he tried to compose himself. _

_He knew just by showing his expression that Zordon would see he was more worried about his teammate than the fate of Turbanshell's destruction. _

"_**May the power protect you, Jason."**_

_With that, Jason nodded his head and took a deep breath in. It was now or never._

"_It's morphin' time!"_

_:-:-:-:-:_

Zack willed his eyes to look into the Red Ranger's face even though they strained to turn away.

"So…that explains why you were picked to morph and fight Turbanshell alone."

Jason nodded his head wearily, "Yeah." He clipped his answers short, hoping that his friend would just be satisfied with the story and go home.

"But, that _doesn't _explain how Zordon knew Tommy was in trouble, and why you're blaming him." Zack could hear Jason sigh in frustration, as he pushed himself off the front door and ran his rough hands down his face.

"Zack, remember when Billy had finally gotten the force field down? And after that, you all had morphed and met me downtown?"

Zack furrowed his brow, puzzled. "Yeah…we called the Zords, iced the turtle, and were brought back to the Command Center where Zordon tol-" He went no further than that, his own throat cutting off at the thought of speaking the words.

It was painful to remember them all standing in the Command Center, listening as their mentor informed them that Tommy had lost his fight in life.

"Before that…when you were making your way downtown…Alpha was able to get the lock on Tommy. Zordon contacted me and he told me Tommy had teleported to the beach…I still don't know how, Zordon believes the future message Tommy got had to come in play somehow."

Zack stared at Jason, his expression unreadable as he tried to swallow. He knew his hunch was right, that there was more to this that he didn't know.

Jason looked up from the ground despondently, "Zordon had told me Tommy didn't have much longer. I…I just told him we'd be there once we finish off that creep."

"Wait…are you telling me you knew? B-but, you seemed so shocked…when Zordon told us all that…we all assumed that you-"

"I didn't want to believe it! Rangers don't die, Zack. I figured…even if Tommy _was _out there dying, Zordon would do _something. _It was only a few more moments. I just called the Zords and focused on destroying Turbanshell. I made a _huge _mistake, and it's my fault." Jason's voice started to crackle. His hands balled into tight fists as anger rushed through his body.

Zack tried to reach out towards his friend, but when his hand touched Jason's shoulder he was ruthlessly brushed away. "Jase, come on, you did the right thing. A few more moments and Turbanshell would have replaced Angel Grove with a black hole."

"No, Zack," Jason shook his head furiously; "I could have done something else. I should have backed out and saved Tommy. I should have done _something._"

"Jason-"

Before the two could even think about starting a dispute, a familiar beeping tone came from them both. Zack's wrist came to view faster than he could even comprehend the action, while Jason rolled his eyes and went to open the door behind him.

"Great, let me guess, another little meeting you all have planned with Zordon?"

Zack looked up at him, his face a frightening pale.

"No."

Jason's heart stopped beating at hearing that. For a split moment, they stood frozen, reading each other's expressions before making a hasty run to find a safe place to teleport.

This wasn't good.

_To Be Continued_


	7. Part II, Chapter Six

_Part II, Chapter Six_

As if it was choreographed, all five Rangers teleported into the Command Center surreptitiously. Rushing inside the middle of the chamber, they barely managed to acknowledge anyone's presences but Zordon's.

"Zordon, what's going on?" Jason was the first to speak up, pushing through Trini and Billy with shaking hands.

Kim looked up at their mentor, chewing her bottom lip nervously, "Has Lord Zedd made his attack already?"

"I wouldn't be surprised; it's been _two_ weeks since he killed Tommy," Zack muttered under his breath, not meaning to let anyone but himself hear his words.

Billy however, turned over to the both of them with a sigh, "Guys, allow him time to respond."

"All of you, shut up!" Jason snapped, having raised his voice.

It didn't take another second for everyone to fall quiet, and immediately Jason turned his back on them once again.

"**Rangers, I wish I could answer your questions." **Zordon contuined. **"However, I am afraid any attack Lord Zedd has planned is going unveiled." **

The five glanced at each other, at Alpha, and at Zordon in worry. If you had listened closely, you could probably hear the loud beating of each heart pounding through the human chest.

"**I brought you here because my sensors have informed me an intergalactic life form has made its way to earth; the evil it possesses is far too great for even myself to comprehend."**

It was almost natural for everyone to expect more from Zordon, having been so used to coming into the command center and being told detail after detail of their new threat. Their minds almost didn't want to accept the fact that this time, their mentor knew as much as they did.

"Do you know what he does, Zordon? Is it some radio-head creature," Trini's eyes narrowed at her teammates next to her.

"Yeah, I mean, should we be keeping an eye out for flying mutant birds?" Zack had questioned.

Even Billy couldn't try to jumble together a reaction to this; he merely stood silent behind Jason with his hands trembling behind his back.

"**It may be more serious this time, Rangers. The very most I have been able to pick up on the evil is his genetic material, which has enlightened me that he is a creature of psychological power." **

The five barely noticed Alpha stumbling by them, whispering 'ayi ayi ayi' softly as he went to work by one of the computer consoles. They looked up towards Zordon, brows furrowed.

"Psychological power? What's that, Zordon?" Jason silently prayed he wasn't going to regret asking his question.

"**He is a creature who contains extrasensory, almost psychic ability. It is a power that can be used for many things, but is no doubt the most dangerous when controlled by evil." **

Billy considered his words quietly, "Psychic ability…yeah, it's known among mind-reading, telekinesis, even shape shifting. It's an ancient aptitude used by spiritualists, a power that can do absolutely anything to someone psychologically."

Jason's stomach dropped with fear. His head slowly turned behind him, his eyes staring straight at the blue ranger.

"Thanks Billy…that's exactly what I wanted to hear." His sarcasm stung like a bee, but even with Billy's hurt expression, he shifted his attention back to their mentor.

"Zordon, how long do you think before this guy attacks?"

"**I'm afraid, Jason, that it is unknown where or when an attack will take place. Alpha was able to track the evil presence for as long as it was on the radar, though, and followed it to what seems to be the dark dimension."**

Jason swore under his breath, "Zedd."

"Man, of course he's behind this!" Zack threw his foot to the ground in frustration, his jaw muscles tightened to the point of pain.

"**Rangers," **Zordon's voice broke the tension among them all, **"I understand this is sudden and unsuspecting, but you must prepare yourself for what is about to strike. At any time can the first attack occur." **

For a slight moment, Jason stood with his head bowed and eyes closed. He focused only on his breathing, only on the small thread of patience keeping him from finding a way into Zedd's dark dimension and destroying him that very moment.

It would please him to no end seeing the monster fall at the hand of his own staff. It would be his vengeance for Tommy's death.

He had so many thoughts running through his head, so many things pouring anger into his body. And it took all his will power to take a breath in, and push all those emotions aside.

"Keep us updated on this, Zordon," Jason spoke for the whole team, and Zordon nodded his head back in reply.

When all seriousness was done with, it didn't take long for Zack to jump slightly with realization.

"Crud! I have to get back; my folks are waiting for me." In a flick of a wrist, Zack teleported out, among with the others who were also in the midst of their life.

Wondering to himself how much longer they all could keep up with their impulsive excuses to parents and friends, Jason brought his own wrist to view.

Just as he was about to teleport out, however…

"**Jason, could you please remain here so I may speak with you?" **

Jason froze, his breath caught in his throat. _'Why now?' _He thought. All he wanted was to go home and sleep, dreading tomorrow's school work but forgetting the day's events.

He looked up with a sigh, "Say whatever you have to, Zordon, I need to get home before my parents realize I'm gone." He was too apathetic to put up a fight honestly, something he could only assume happening from his conversation from Zack.

"**I think it would only be appropriate to discuss our last encounter." **Zordon saw Jason give no reaction, as if he knew and were prepared for his words.

He fell silent, giving the Ranger an opportunity to speak.

"Zordon, all I have to say on the matter is…I'm sorry."

Alpha, who had been standing at the computer consoles with his back turned to them both, shot his head up to view, taken by surprise. "Ayi…ayi…?"

"**Alpha, please go back to work." **Zordon turned back to Jason, **"I feel there is no need for an apology on your behalf, Jason."**

"No, there is," Jason shifted his position; "I was being…juvenile and rash with my emotions. It had only been a few days since Tommy…since the battle. I wasn't quite ready to put myself in a Ranger-mode-of mind."

"**Your grief is very aware and understood," **Zordon spoke, seeing where Jason was going at.

"And that's appreciated. I should have known that from the start. I just feel…" His voice died down, a nauseating feeling overwhelming his senses. Why did his emotions always have to take the wheel? "I just feel that, not having fled the mission to save Tommy…this still could have been prevented. A part of me _does_ think you could have done something." He chuckled, shaking his head and bringing it up to look at Zordon. "I don't know, maybe I'm just trying to find blame on someone else to make me feel better."

It was ironic, considering even if he did blame Zordon, he still felt terrible. Jason was beginning to think nothing could make him feel okay again; the more time that went on the worse he got.

'_Huh, and they say it gets better __with__ time. Why don't I believe that?' _he bitterly thought to himself.

"**Jason, something you must understand, is that this was no one's fault but the enemy's. At Lord Zedd's hands, destruction beyond conviction can occur. I'm afraid Tommy's death is the tragic proof of that."**

The Ranger barely acknowledged Alpha's whimper of sorrow anymore, having made the noise after Zordon spoke. Any time the word 'death' was brought into the Command Center; the robot would show an emotion that only the humans were feeling. However, he continued to go back to work, not once showing his face to them.

Jason nodded dolefully, hardly taking to heart what his mentor had said.

"Yeah, of course, I know, Zordon." His eyes went dull, "Listen, I need to get home, keep me updated on the situation." He had brought his wrist up, his fingers wrapped around the sides of his communicator ready to teleport out.

"**Before you leave Jason…" **

His arms dropped to his side almost simultaneously to when Zordon had spoken. He looked up, all but wondering what else had to be said.

"**There is one more thing I must tell you."**

"What is it?"

"**This creature - the new threat to Angel Grove - the devastation he possesses could be far worse than what we have suffered from recently. I believe it goes without saying that you will have to inherit the Green Ranger's powers sooner than we had expected."**

Jason froze; he stood quite and unmoving, forgetting to breathe for those short few moments. Zordon's words repeated itself in his head, acting as a broken record.

He had felt his stomach drop to the floor again. As the many times before, not once did he reach down to pick it up. He didn't compose himself; instead let his mind reel in shock.

_:-:-:-:-:_

_Tommy's hand shook with tremors, his efforts to bring forth his arm almost becoming an impossible task. The longer he tried, the harder his grip on Jason's hand became._

"_Bro…" Jason finally reached forward, gripping his expanded arm just as his strength left him, leaving the Dragon Dagger to teeter between his fingers._

"_The power's…yours now. Use it to…defeat Zedd." His voice stumbled in pain, and unintentionally cracked in fear. _

_Beneath the helmet, Jason could almost see the fresh tears welling in Tommy's eyes. Whether it was from the tremendous agony or the thought of death was simply unknown._

_No words could be spoken. Instead, the Red Ranger reached forward, and gripped the Dragon Dagger within Tommy's grip._

_:-:-:-:-:_

"**Jason?"**

Zordon's strident voice snapped him back to reality. Jason blinked a few times vacantly, still staring out in space.

"Yeah, Zordon…I know."

* * *

The next day, Ernie's Juice Bar was packed with teenagers after school. Noises of laughter and shouting echoed the walls like every other day, bringing back the happy spirit the building once contained. 

Zack, Billy, Kim and Trini all sat together at one table studying their homework. No one was speaking, the lack of communication showing clear with Zack even wearing his headphones to listen to his cassette player.

The girl in pink popped her bubble gum, "What's the answer to number twelve?" Despite the fact her question was directed to the entire table, she looked directly at Billy.

"I'm not there yet," he answered, not once bringing his head up for view, "Question Zack, I believe he's further on the page."

Kim turned her direction to the other guy. "Zack?"

He didn't answer, instead continued to tap his pencil to the rhythm of his music.

"Zack!" Kim spoke twice as louder, however the reaction was still the same.

Both Trini and she sighed heavily. They looked at each other quickly before the one in pink nodded her head, moving her text books aside.

"Oh, look, it's Angela. Over here, girl!"

It was almost frightening how fast Zack shot up from his chair, headphones ripped out of his ears as he looked in the way Kim shouted towards.

It didn't take him long at all to realize the cruel joke.

"Oh hardy har, Kimberly," he mumbled, picking up his cassette player and tangled headphones.

He was about to sit back down, no doubt answer Kim's question to avoid further nagging, when someone caught his eye. Decked out in all red, Jason entered the youth center with his backpack slipping off his shoulder.

"I'll be right back, you guys," Zack said, leaving his things on the table and jogging over to the entrance of the juice bar.

Jason saw Zack immediately and for once walked towards him instead of away.

"Dude, hey. How's it going?" Zack lightly brushed his hand against Jason's arm, as if he was reaching for a handshake but decided against it. Jason knew what it was about, he had heard consolers around the school telling people that human contact was a good way of reaching out to those in sorrow.

He mentally shook his head at the thought; he wasn't one of _them. _This was different. Right?

"You know…it goes," Jason said shortly, his attention on anything but Zack. His eyes wandered around the youth center, inconspicuously looking for something without grabbing the interest of others.

'_He's not here, Jason,' _the Ranger thought; _'He's not going to walk out of the gym anymore. He's gone.' _

"Uh, listen…" Zack's voice snapped him back, "Have you heard anything from Zordon yet? It's making us all sick being on our toes."

Jason looked him in the eyes and sighed, "No, nothing yet."

"Fantastic." Zack made some kind of noise caught between a groan and a hiss.

Jason looked straight at him, watching as he closed his arms around his chest.

He saw inside him a worried, stressed Ranger, not willing to show his fear but no doubt feeling it as well. He didn't see an irritating, nagging friend pushing him to talk about how he felt.

He saw Zack through the eyes of a leader.

"I'll, uh…I'll inform you guys the moment Zordon tells me anything." Jason fumbled on his words, his voice not quite understandable against the rackety noise surrounding.

"Yeah, actually, that's something I want to talk to you about," Zack said.

'_Crap.' _

"I was thinking that maybe you should, you know…tell the others what you told me."

Jason snorted, "No, Zack." He was about to make his way past him, when Zack grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Man, hear me out. It's only fair they know what went down that day."

"They know exactly what went down, they were there. What happened was between Zordon and I. If I couldn't stop it, then it shouldn't be brought up."

"We're a team, Jason! We tell each other everything."

Jason bowed his head, biting on his lower lip as he tried not to lash out at Zack. He counted to ten, pacing himself in deep breaths before looking back up.

"I'm not ruling out the idea in itself, Zack, but not now. We have too much to worry about, they don't need more on their shoulders."

He found himself, once again, looking through the eyes of a leader. It eased the pain; it brought him to a world where he could control his emotions, and the things happening around him.

He was thankful he hadn't lost that yet.

Zack mellowed slightly, but didn't stick around any longer for the conversation to continue. He walked past Jason shaking his head slightly.

All he wanted were to help make things better again, and with Jason, it was nearly impossible. He sat back down in his chair, paying no attention to Jason coming up and grabbing a seat at the table himself.

All he had to do was finish his daily routine and then he could focus on his own healing.

"Jason!" Kim scooted her chair next to his, dragging her papers with her. "What's the answer to number twelve?"

"Uh…" Jason brought the paper up to get a closer look. "Factor out an x first. Then factor the remaining quadratic."

Kim snapped her fingers, sighing. "Dang it, I knew that."

Aside from Trini letting out a small chuckle, they all fell silent. Jason dug into his backpack to get out his homework, but no one else brought up a topic of discussion or even made any noticeable movements.

Billy had looked up, being the first to get a good look at them all together since the funeral. It was almost bitter irony that _he _was the one to pull himself away from schoolwork to focus on something irrelevant.

He watched them all carefully; the group he called his friends, the people that, at point in times, became his lifesaver. He watched them, and painfully realized how different they were all becoming.

Sure, Kim still chewed the top of her pencil, and Trini still stuck her tongue out when she wrote down an answer. Of course, Zack still listened to his music. But there were no more smiles, no more laughter between them. It was all replaced with uneasy tension.

"This is peculiar." He spoke up, his voice (and choice of words) grabbing all their attention.

"Come again?" Jason asked.

"This - what we're acting upon." Billy pushed his papers aside and spread his hands out in a circular motion. "I comprehend we're in the mourning process, but shouldn't that bring us together, shouldn't it make us closer?"

Silence had overcome them, none of the four daring to utter a response to the child genius. Maybe once did someone exchange glances, but aside from that, heads were bowed in self-pity.

Billy sighed, pushing himself up from his chair, "I'm going to buy a smoothie." He pushed in his seat and looked Jason directly in the eye. "By the way, you were wrong. You can use the difference of squares formula to factor the quadratic, set them to zero and solve for x."

Kim threw her pencil down with force. "Dang it!" She looked up with a sigh when Jason gathered his things and left the table.

* * *

Lord Zedd hissed loudly, his metal nails gradually tapping against his throne's armrest. The entire palace was pitch dark, more so than usual. Any light that reflected off the moon through the windows were blocked, lanterns were blown out, and he even found himself trying to stay cool not to set off his heat waves. 

It was pure hell.

And in his opinion, barely worth it. The darkness was brought on for their 'special guest', one whom he sat waiting to show up that very moment. Zedd was infuriated, to say the least, and couldn't even show it.

He tried telling himself this would be worth it, that to have the Wizard in his quarters was a stroke of luck alone. But he played by his _own _rules, not someone else's. And that wasn't going to change for some over-self confident egotistic villain.

"Why…my, my, my…"

Lord Zedd looked up, watching as a purple and orange trace of light came strolling into the throne room.

Speak of the devil.

"Zedd, I have to say, you aren't the greatest host in the demission. I would have been better off sleeping on Master Vile's sofa."

The light perused closer to Zedd, and the nearer it was, the more distinct the possessor became. Just seeing his face infuriated the skinless villain.

"And what's with that monkey? I mean, sure, beggars can't be choosers. But have a _little _more sophistication in your servants."

Lord Zedd shot up from his throne, his staff tightly in grip as hot red illumination shone off his muscles.

He threw his staff forward, sparks of lighting flying off the giant Z. "I will _**not **_be questioned by an ignorant son of a -"

Just as a streak of purple lighting shot out of the Z from Zedd's staff, the mysterious Wizard spent no time reacting with his quick reflexes.

His arms drew rearward, the long sleeves around them fluttering back in the air. Time consequently fell into a sluggish, dawdling pace around everything and everyone but the Wizard.

His movements were at expeditious speed compared to Lord Zedd's. Faster than the human eye could blink, the symbol of an hourglass inscribed into his skin, burned the blazing color of purple.

A force larger then the room its self generated off the symbol, and forcefully flew towards the lightening strike coming towards him.

And then time returned to normal.

"**Never,**" The Wizard stormed towards Lord Zedd, just as the force knocked him into his throne, the breath torn from his throat, "**EVER, **disrepute me."

He hauled his arms back again, both elbows drawn to his right as this time he kept his hands near each other. Zedd's eyes, being nothing but glass, reflected the glowing orange force field spinning around the Wizard's hands.

"Is that understood?" he hissed, letting the ball of energy grow in size with anger.

Zedd gulped loudly, immediately regretting the sign of panic but currently savoring his life a bit more than his dignity. "Yes," he said in a low whisper.

"Yes, _who?_" As if being connected with the being's anger, the orange ball initiated blistering fire, soaring up from his fingertips to his shoulder blade.

Zedd growled, "Yes, Wizard of Despair."

_To Be Continued_


	8. Part II, Chapter Seven

_Part II, Chapter Seven_

_Time seemed to be taking a new pace for Jason. When only hours had passed, it seemed like days. And when only minutes went by, he believed they seemed like hours._

_Zordon had given him his morpher to hold off Turbanshell until Billy could break Lord Zedd's force field. It was all he had, though; his morpher and blade blaster to fight off a 50 foot sea-creature that had already destroyed numerous Angel Grove buildings._

_It wasn't an impossible task, but it sure wasn't easy. Turbanshell seemed more interested in lunching on glass than paying attention to the lasers thrown off his body, and it was at least an hour before Jason had finally crawled under a bridge with exhaustion._

"_**Jason? Jason, can you hear me?" **_

_The Ranger never thought he'd be so happy to hear Alpha's voice than that very moment. He let out a collective sigh, bringing his wrist to view._

"_Zordon, I can't hold this guy off any longer. You have to give me something, anything to help me here."_

_Zordon spoke through, __**"Billy has been able to break through the force-field, Jason. The others are on their way now."**_

'Thank god!' _He thought, his knees temporarily buckling to the ground. _

_His relief was cut short, though, when through the communication device, he could hear the faint sound of Alpha in the background. _

_Jason paid close attention, letting his breathing come to a halt to better hear the voices._

"_Zordon, what is it?" His words shouted over the destruction that Turbanshell caused behind him._

"_**Jason, Alpha has been able to find a lock on Tommy. He seems to have teleported to the south porch beach. You mu-"**_

_An explosion cut Zordon's words short, as behind Jason another building collapsed, the debris shattering against the bridge and flying around to him._

"_**Jason!"**__His voice spoke louder, __**"You must hurry; he does not have much time."**_

_Jason looked to his left, faintly seeing through the wreckage his team running towards him. The multi-colored suited Rangers were an adrenaline rush for him to see, his leadership kicking into overdrive as thoughts of what to do next came rushing through his head._

"_We'll be there once this creep is finished off, Zordon. You need to send the Zords!"_

_Just as he shut off his communicator, yet another explosion blasted behind him. This time, he was sent hurling forward, the faint sound of a harsh, female voice echoing his ears._

"_JAS-"_

_:-:-:-:-:_

"**-on!"**

'_Wha…'_

"**Jason, you need to respond. Something's happened downtown."**

'_What time is it?'_

"**Are you **_**there, **_**Jason?"**

'_Billy?'_

"**Something's taken place downtown, Jason. Respond!"**

"Billy!" Jason shot up from his bed, automatically throwing his wrist to his mouth. "I'm here, Billy. What's going on?"

It was dark, and for a few moments Jason had no idea where he was. All he knew was his brain set itself in leadership mode, absently holding his wrist in view as his communicator blinked red from the sides.

Everything dawned on him slowly after that. He was in his room, he had been sleeping, and he had been dreaming. This was reality, he needed to focus.

"**Trini's freaking out, she says something's happened downtown. The coordinates are programmed in your communicator, teleport and you'll be among us."**

"Understood. Jason out."

He ran his hands down his face, the exhaustion sweeping over his body. He stood up and teleported out of his room, but not before taking a quick glance at his clock.

The blurry, red numbers read 3:42 am.

Downtown Angel Grove stood quiet in the middle of the morning, residents sleeping soundly and the streets empty of cars. The isolated city would have seemed almost deserted if it weren't for a group of teenagers gathered near the park.

"Trini, you got to calm down."

"Zack, you don't understand -"

"Yes, we do Trini. Just take a breath."

The trio sighed, Zack, Kimberly and Billy watching as Trini stepped away from them and hugged herself tightly.

"I know what I saw!" A fresh tear streamed down her pale, soft cheek, gleaming slightly beneath the lamppost she stood under.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before a beam of red light emerged next to the yellow Ranger, and in a blink of an eye Jason appeared.

"Trini! What is it?" He grabbed her shoulders gently, pulling her to his face. "Tell me what's going on."

"He-Jason, I swear I saw him. It was-I was in my-I swear, I know what I saw!" Her words came out as dry sobs, her arms clinging even tighter to her body in a state of weakness.

Zack casually leaned against the lamppost, his attention on their leader. "Jase, Trini's telling us that she saw Turbanshell."

His reaction was nothing short of unexpected. "What! Where? That's-!"

"Impracticable." Billy interrupted, his logical sense stepping in. "Trini, it was just in your mind. We're all in a state of grieving right now, it's a fragile-"

"No, Billy!" Trini shrieked. "I _know _what I saw!"

Kimberly frowned, taking a place across from Jason as she grabbed her friend's shoulder, pulling her close in comfort. "Okay Trini, it's alright. How about you tell Jason what exactly happened."

Finally, Trini took a deep, unsettling inhale.

"I had just woken up -"

"All the more clarification that this is just in your head." The group turned to Billy, who was leaning next to Zack as he rubbed his tired eyes with both knuckles.

Jason intervened, "Hey, Billy, let's just let her talk." Even as the blue Ranger nodded his head in agreement, Jason could tell he wasn't thinking too highly of the situation.

Trini continued. "I had just woken up, and after coming back from the bathroom, I was sitting on my windowsill looking outside. Jason, I swear, about a minute later I saw Turbanshell right about here storming through the city. That's when I called Zack."

"We both teleported here, but there was nothing. It was as silent and empty as it is now."

Jason, confused and a little taken back, nodded his head slowly as he took everything in.

"Okay…we'll just contact Zordon; see if there's been any odd activity lately."

"We did that, though." Kim informed him.

Jason darted his eyebrows down, baffled at what he was hearing.

"See, we figured it might have been what he was talking about before, ya know? Maybe Lord Zedd sent down a replica that's twice as evil."

Billy nodded at Zack, "However, there's nothing. Zordon says that the intergalactic life form Alpha had picked up on the sensors earlier is at a standstill, and they're trying to trace its location. But _nothing _else has happened. Whatever Trini saw-"

"It was _real! _I've never seen anything so real in my life than Tommy lying dead on that beach!"

"Whoa, whoa, Trini, **calm **down." Jason's voice echoed the area, loud enough to possibly wake up the nearest residents.

Subsequently, an uncomfortable silence fell through, as the five exchanged glances in reserved thought.

"Listen…maybe what you saw _was _in your head, Trini." Before the yellow Ranger could protest, Jason stopped her and spoke again.

"Or maybe it's not. We don't know. But if Zordon assures us there's nothing to worry about, we should just go to sleep and worry about this later."

Jason sighed deeply, slowly taking a look around at his four teammates, all dressed in nightwear, half asleep but still stricken with panic.

His words came out slowly as he tried hard to retain guidance with his voice. "Let's…all just do that."

"I'm going back to sleep, guys." Zack turned to Trini, "Listen, I'm cool to talk about this during lunch tomorrow, Trini. But…nothing happened. Try not to let it get to you that much."

With that, Zack teleported out, and after the rest said their muttered good nights, an array of beaming lights following.

Just as Jason was about to do the same, his fingers gripping the communicator, he glanced over to realize Kim still stood next to him.

She hesitated on teleporting herself, especially when they both locked eyes with unsaid words.

"Jase…"

"Goodnight, Kim."

With that, Jason teleported back to his bedroom, leaving Kim to stand alone in the park.


	9. Part II, Chapter Eight

_Part II, Chapter Eight_

Jason hadn't heard so much murmuring in the halls of Angel Grove High since him and the others had returned to school after Tommy's death. Today however, as he walked to third period, there wasn't a single teenager who didn't stare at him.

He was a wreck, and he knew it.

The ranger couldn't remember the last he'd had more than three hours of sleep in one night, or ate more than a few crackers for a meal. The days were blurring together and the more they went on, the less he saw point in bothering with either eating or sleeping; especially the latter.

Jason shuddered to himself as he entered Mrs. Appleby's classroom, remembering the nightmares he persisted to have about what happened the day Tommy died. They always seemed so real. Every time, he found himself waking up screaming his friend's name. Nothing he did could erase how vivid they were becoming. If it meant not sleeping to find some peace, so be it. Jason walked into the classroom, letting his backpack drop on the floor next to his usual desks.

Before he sat down, however, he caught the sight of Billy sitting across from him.

"Hey," he said, "what are you reading?"

Billy looked up with surprise, his glasses falling down to the brink of his nose. "Oh, this?" The book he held in his hands closed as he turned it over to the back. "It-it's just something my mother's sister provided me with. It's a novel by Kubler Ross entitled _On Death and Dying. _They uphold that it will assist me through this occasion of grieving."

Jason nodded slowly, not fully understanding what his friend had said, but catching the important cliff notes needed.

"That's cool," he mumbled, taking his seat as he dug through his backpack to gather his notebooks.

As he did, a handful of more students came walking through the door, Trini and Kimberly being two of them. The sound of their voices caught Jason's attention, and he looked up to find Kim holding Trini close, whispering something only she could hear.

As they walked closer to him, Jason could catch words that made him assume Kimberly was trying to reassure her after what had happened last night. The Pink Ranger walked past him, and gently he grabbed her arm to keep her from going any further.

"Kim." He waited until Trini was across the room, having sat down at her own desk. "How is she doing?"

Kim sighed, "Better. She still swears by what she saw though. I've never seen her stand by something so strongly before."

Jason looked over at Trini, seeing her struggle to get her books together from lack of sleep. He couldn't believe that she had really seen Turbanshell, but he surely didn't want to believe that grief was being this hard for her.

"Yeah…hopefully she'll get over it," Jason said, pulling his last book out of his backpack.

He bluntly overlooked Kim's scuff to his response, but couldn't ignore her as she took a seat at the desk next to him.

"Jase, I'm sorry, okay?" Jason looked over at her, surprised. "It's just…this is stupid, I'm tired of you not talking to me."

His eyes returned to his notebooks, "Kim, you can't apologize just because you want to talk with me." He didn't even bother looking up as Kim let out another scuff. In his mind he was counting to ten, doing all he could to keep his fire at bay.

His anger at her hadn't changed since their fight, and he couldn't find it in him to look at her without seeing a selfish, overemotional drama queen. A part of him knew it wasn't truly her, but he couldn't help it; it was as if his emotions were becoming all he was.

Kim threw her books down, "It's more than that, Jason!"

He looked up, his blank eyes staring blandly into hers. She caved and sighed, running her hand through the back of her hair.

She was blunt. "You're being a jerk, Jason."

His reaction was no surprise to her. His teeth clenched, and she was afraid he was about to crack his molars. Immediately he gathered his books, ready to stand up when she grabbed his arm and pulled him down.

She barely took note of the fact she was able to force down and into a chair a guy who did martial arts.

"You're shutting us all out and you won't get over this….stupid angry phase. We're _all _dealing with this, why can't we just deal with it together?" Kim had begged.

Jason jerked away her grip, the part of his mind he knew wasn't true currently going in overdrive. "Because I have a bit more to deal with, Kim."

As a handful of more students came bursting into the room, Kimberly leaned further over her desk, and unaware to Jason, firmly placed her hand down on his desk.

"Then why don't you tell us whatever you're holding back?"

Jason's mind had become his worst enemy, and he finally couldn't tell which Kim he was seeing. The lack of sleep was getting the better of him, and whether she was being sincere or furious was something he couldn't figure out.

Not being in the mood to put up with anyone, Jason leaned closer to her, and for a second, each could feel the other's breath down their neck. "Why don't you leave me the hell alone?"

It was then that the school bell rang, shrilling in the students' ears. Neither Jason nor Kimberly blinked however, as they started into each other's eyes.

Mrs. Appleby came walking in the room, closing the door behind her. "Okay students, settle down! Find your seats, please."

Kimberly finally pulled back, shaking her head with disgust.

"You're unbelievable."

As she stood up and gathered her books, Jason muttered his response, "Same to you."

As the class started, a desk remained empty. Not even Jason took in fact that the desk in front of him had belonged to Tommy.

* * *

Unbelievable.

Lord Zedd stood up from the ground he sat on, his body blazing red heat in anger. He was nearing his breaking point.

It had been four moon falls ago that he practically gave up his dignity accepting help from the forbidden sorcerer, and not a second went by that he didn't suffer from the decision. He ate, sat, and slept with his own slaves; nothing more degrading than living his nights with Goldar and Squat.

And all for what? A little trick on the eyes of the yellow Ranger?

"I've risked my entire _standing _with the United Alliance of Evil bringing you back into existence, Wizard, **just **so you can dilly-dally time for actions so -"

Lord Zedd froze as quickly as his outburst came. The Wizard, cloaked in his purple veil and standing outside the palace's viewing window, held his palm out towards him.

The single motion was enough for Zedd not to move another centimeter.

"I will do…what I do best…when the time is right." He turned his head around, his lips barely cracking a grin. "Not all of us rush time as quickly as you do, Zedd. We have different methods…other than send to Earth a giant mutant turtle to destroy the strongest heroes of the world."

Zedd growled, and the red heat began to illuminate the dark palace. "Let me remind you that turtle _killed _one of those Rangers. Now if you're here to just waste my food and persist in being a pain in my -"

The red light quickly became replaced with a purple radiance, and before Zedd could process the change, the vacant white and yellow eyes were staring face-to-face at him.

"I am doing _more _than you and that nuisance of a woman Rita Repulsa ever succeeded in your time combined."

His breath burnt on Zedd's bare muscles, and if it were possible, his once blazing body began to chill over in a bitter frost.

Zedd gulped, waiting for an attack that never came.

Instead, the Wizard stepped back, letting his grip on his staff go loose. "You just have to be…_patient, _Zedd."

And with that, he began to walk back to his viewing place, content in watching over the earth's petty and oblivious subsistence.

Zedd, however, wasn't too keen on his choice in actions. He risked all he had in the evil alliance, every second panicking over the higher powers finding out of what he had done. And he wasn't going to let it all be so some arrogant sorcerer could get a fine view of Earth.

"Patient?" Zedd echoed. "You didn't seem to be so patient 20 years ago."

He knew he had pushed a button the moment orange and purple lighting began to dim the room, and Zedd could almost see the Wizard's shoulders tensing up.

It didn't stop him though. He walked up to the Wizard, meeting him at the viewing window with disdain.

"In fact, patience is the _last _choice of words anyone would use for your actions back then."

"We are all aware of -"

"But let me remind you of it. 20 years ago, Wizard, you were second in command with the United Alliance of Evil. But it wasn't good enough for you, was it?"

The lighting died down completely in the room, things almost becoming pitch dark for the two

The Wizard stood still, and Lord Zedd approached him more.

"No, you just had to be at the top. You're _never _good with where you are, you arrogant son of a demon; ruining with everyone, going as far as messing with Dark Spector's own son. YOU put the Alliance of Evil back at square one by screwing with his head!"

The Wizard of Despair no longer held any light to him, the cloak over his body hiding even his face, lowered to the very brink of his neck. "Just played a few tricks, Zedd."

Lord Zedd scoffed. "You were banished before even told that Dark Spector's son surrendered himself to the Order of Meledon. If he didn't snap out of it when he did and _destroyed _himself before Zordon got any information out of him, then the Alliance of Evil would be more than screwed at square one. They wouldn't even exist anymore.

"So patience, is it? Patience for something as _simple _as getting rid of 5 Rangers, when you had every command of the Alliance so twisted up they killed themselves, just so you could take what they had?"

His head so lowered, Lord Zedd had no idea that the Wizard's yellow eyes rolled over black. He simply scoffed, turning his back to the sorcerer.

"Then fine. I'll just go back to things my own wa-"

Zedd didn't even get another millisecond to breathe. Before he knew it, he was on his back, face in the ground and the Wizard's staff inches from digging into his spine. As he struggled to breathe, he realized time was once again used against him.

"Say another damn word, Zedd, and I'll do to you what I did to who they now call the Phantom Ranger."

The Wizard bent down, his staff still jabbing into Zedd's metal spine. His dry and cracked lips met his ears, and the air from his mouth once again felt like acid to his muscles.

"I'll have messed you up so badly you won't even have the strength to create yourself a new body to keep you alive."

And the pain left as quick as it came. The stabbing pressure against him was lifted, and Lord Zedd was left lying on the floor, abandoned feet away from the Wizard stood.

He lifted his head, his heavy breathing all that was heard in the room. It was as if the Wizard hadn't even moved from his spot.

Yet, he could hear his voice as if his lips were still up against his ear.

"We do things my way, Zedd."

* * *

In the past week and a half, Kimberly hadn't had a lot of time to herself to think about Tommy's death. That evening though, she sat on a swing in the middle of Angel Grove park staring vacantly out into the empty field.

She couldn't fully understand why she had been avoiding doing this. In reality, she was _literately _given time from teachers and parents to cope with things; to overcome the pain of what had happened and move on. But she always went out of her way to do the exact opposite and never bring the matter to mind. She was always pushing it to the very back, never to reflect on.

It made her nauseous to think about. It was such a strange feeling, one that she had never felt before. One second she'd want to cry, the other she'd want to scream, sometimes spew her lunch during the above. It was rather obvious as to why she wanted to try and avoid deliberating as much as possible.

To know that he was gone forever…it seemed impossible to come to terms with. She could say the words repeatedly in her head and she still couldn't grasp the fact. She was never going to see him, his smile, or hear his voice and his laugh again. He was never going to save her from danger, be there when she was shaken up after battle…

She was never going to feel or taste his lips when they kissed, or his strong arms wrap around her in an embrace that made her feel like she was worth something in this world.

Kim felt herself fold her arms tightly around her body, as if to encompass that missing feeling she held. No one could ever equal up to the way he made her feel, not even herself.

She never even got a chance to say goodbye.

The last time they saw each other was in class. Then everything came crashing down; he was teleported into another dimension, they were trying to break the force field around the Command Center, and before she knew it, Zordon was telling them his body was at the beach.

Just like all the other times, the tears came at random. Kim's eyes burned with the pain of sorrow as she remembered that day so clearly, as if it were being played in front of her. She and Trini screamed for help. It was senseless; the beach was deserted with no one around for miles. But seeing Tommy lying in Jason's arms…they ran and they screamed for anyone.

She could still almost feel her throat hoarse from that day.

"K-Kim-Kimberly?"

The voice from behind came as a surprise, and Kimberly jumped slightly in the swing as she quickly dried her tears with the sleeve of her pink jacket.

"Billy, hi!" Next to her, Billy awkwardly came walking up, his footsteps hesitating in actually coming near the girl as she dried her cheeks.

She cleared her throat, trying to push back the burning lump formed inside. "Uhm, what are you doing here?" Kim asked quietly.

Billy held up the book in his hand, smiling ineptly. "I came to peruse my reading. I constantly take pleasure in dusk when I do my research."

Kim's mouth gaped open, and one eyebrow darted up. "What?"

Billy chuckled, taking a seat on the swing next to the Pink Ranger. "I came to read."

Understanding now, Kim let out an 'ah' with acknowledgement to the book he had sitting in his lap.

She frowned though, feeling the tension between them getting thicker the more unsaid words flew by.

Billy looked up, "A-are you believing to be alright?" he stumbled slightly, feeling nervous after hearing his friend sniff with tears. "I, uh, I observed you expressing your sadness and-"

Kim stopped him, "Billy, it's okay." She looked up with a forced smile. "You don't have to say anything."

Billy nodded uncomfortably, bowing his head back down to the ground as his feet fidgeted with the sand below them.

Kimberly continuing to sniff, though, made his stomach uneasy, and suddenly he began to rowdily flip through his book.

"Y-you know, Elisabeth Ross discourses about how the response of a tragic occurrence indicates the true standpoint we had for a particular thing or person, a-and how a valid coping mechanism will, uh, will craft an easier pinpoint of emotions."

Billy smiled slightly, holding the book towards her as if he wanted her to read the passage he had found.

However, Kim looked up at him, her expression completely blank as she blinked frantically at what he had told her. For a solid minute, the only sound around them was the chirping of birds, and Billy's breathing intensifying as his anxiety increased.

"…I'm sorry Billy, I didn't understand a thing you just said."

He nodded, a bit disheartened at the fact he was being no assistance.

Lately, Zack and Trini had been doing all the comforting to the appointed gender. He could tell things were getting sullen, though, as Zack could only handle so much and Trini was suddenly broken down by last night's incident.

He wasn't good with girls, so crying girls only added onto the tension.

"I, um…I miss him too." Billy's voice was low, and his eyes were glued to the ground. But Kimberly had looked up at him, his discomfort gleaming so deeply it almost made her smile knowing he was truly trying to console her.

She nodded her head, "Yeah…we all do." Kim almost felt pointless saying such a lack of words, but she couldn't muster up the strength to go any more profound.

Billy, however, was the opposite. He slammed his book shut and frantically shook his head with a mess of emotions.

"It's just…it's so problematical to contemplate what happened, Kim! It's the actuality that I know every figure and aspect to what happened to him and how he…how he died."

Kim was shocked to hear his voice crack up, and she immediately moved closer to his swing with her head tilted. "What are you saying, Billy?"

He sighed, his shoulders dropping heavily. "I looked over the outcome of his power loss when Alpha and I examined his powercoin. I _read _over the…the pain he felt, Kim."

He pushed back his tears, looking over at Kim who sat with wide eyes and her mouth gapped open. "Do you know how excruciating it was for him? To know that…to know how he must have felt…"

What Billy did next came as a complete surprise to Kimberly. Jumping up from the swing set, he took his book and slammed it into the sand with a shout that echoed the empty park.

"This book is vain! I can't study how to overcome what happened because no one's ever had to go through what we are!" He yelled through the park, frustrated at only himself and the emotions he couldn't understand.

Before Billy could comprehend it, Kim had wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug as she cried gently.

He didn't resist. He held her tight, afraid that she might leave him as well. His cheeks began to smother themselves with wet tears and his glasses went crooked on his face, but he held her firmly as she cried against his shoulder

"It's not reasonable! Tommy a-accepted me as a person. He didn't judge me!" Billy choked through his tears, "Why did it have to be him?"

_To be continued _


End file.
